Turn my Swag On

Goal Setting

At every stage in my life, I set a high goal and was able to attain it. For college I wanted to go to Berkeley or Brandeis. I only applied to 4 schools and got into all of them. For law school I wanted to go to the #1 school in the country, Yale. I punked out of applying, but I applied to 13 schools, all in the top 15. I got into all of them except Standford (down with the Cardinal!). When I graduated law school, I wanted to work at a top law firm. I went through the process and ended up at a Top 40 law firm.

I recently said to myself that now is not the time for little goals. I have two friends that are published and they are are both under two of the top 10 publishers in the US: HarperCollins and Houghton Mifflin. One of them already sold the rights to have her book adapted into a film and the other got her book sold in a literary auction, which means lots of people were interested in it. These are my peers and, therefore, my benchmark for success.

So, I am setting a top 10 publisher as my goal.

How do I get there?

Well, this is difficult to figure out, but a major aspect is the marketability of your book. I have started this section of my proposal and I think I have a pretty good segment of the market carved out:

In the academic world, I have connections to lots of published and respected professors. I need my book to be good enough to get testimonials from two of my NYU professors, Professor Derrick Bell (who is super famous in Critical Race Theory circles and beyond) and Professor Tony Thompson (who recently published the bible of books on Reentry studies). I am also getting in touch with NYU to see how they can support me in my efforts. For $190k, I assume there is something they can do to support my efforts. Especially because this book is definitely good PR for them.

I have a chapter devoted to who I consider to be the key members of my network. All of these individuals have their own networks and I am relying on them to be my cheerleaders in pushing my book. Each of them will be impressed with the role that they play and what I have to say about them and all are go-getters so if their name is attached they will want it to be a success.

Aspiring lawyers, law students and lawyers, particularly African-Americans are definitely a key demographic for my book.

Up and coming entrepreneurs are also part of the market for my book.

Another key element is access to press. I have this down in the DC area and I will be relying on my PR mavens on both coasts to help me push this.

I think my title is a seller as well.

Most importantly, the book has to be good. I am still yet to finish a full chapter, though I have been writing everyday. I jump around between the into, chapter 1 and chapter 6. Sometimes I stray and start writing up my marketability piece or, this week, I have been trying to stop myself from writing parts of Chapter 5 which follows my years at Berkeley.

What Now?

These goals are just there to help me dream big an do what needs to be done to make it happen. Right now my focus is on completing my proposal. Sunday is a good writing day, so if I could just keep myself focused on one chapter I know that I can finish it. I feel that it should be Chapter 1 because it will set the tone for the rest of my book, but Chapter 6 is so fresh and full of characters and the meat of my theory that it has been much easier to write. I will set my goal as finishing Chapter 1 and see where I get. No pressure. Baby Riley is due sometime in the next 15 days and she has been a huge motivation to get this done. I am trusting that everything will work out how it is meant to work out, so I am feeling confident and self-assured by my process. Wish me luck!

Evaluation Time

Checking in with Muse v Fear

1) LACK OF CONFIDENCE 1 point for me

2) FAILURE TO ACT tied

3) FEAR OF GOING AFTER MY OWN DREAMS 1 point for me

4) FEAR OF BEING ACCOUNTABLE 1 point for me

5) DELUSIONS OF GRANDEUR 1 point for me

6) LACK OF COMMITMENT 1 point for me

7) FEAR OF GREATNESS 1 point for Fear

All in all, I am kicking butt. I have very little anxiety about my ability to write the book that I see in my head. I am not pushing myself too hard because I am keeping my kids as my priority right now. I am continuing to post blogs and keep it honest in my writing. By writing my own story, there are so many characters whose feelings I have to consider. It is teaching me how to write in a way that is both honest and considerate. I am enjoying the challenge.

Checking in with The Other N Word

Going back down memory lane is exhausting work. I have to edit myself when I write because this book is not my life story, if it is not relevant to teaching me the game of networking it should not go in. On the flip side, stories are injected in that I did not forsee being part of the book.

My goal is to draft my Intro, Chapter 1 and Chapter 6. I think these three things set up the premise for the book and are diverse enough to give a good impression of the rest of the book. I really like my intro so far. Framing my story has been like framing a piece of art. I have to put the reader in the mindset that I'd like them to be in. Choosing my words carefully and trusting my voice have been essential tools. I have parts of all 3 chapters done, I just really want to have a whole chapter done. This is my goal today. Chapter 1 is about my early childhood and Chapter 6 is about my law firm career. I straddle between the two depending on what I am in the mood to deal with. I think Chapter 6 might get written faster, though I am pretty close to being done with Chapter 1. A lot of framing of a lot of memories...can be slow work.

The law firm stuff is fresh in my mind and the chapter is entitled "The Knowledge Without the Game". At this point in my journey, I was beginning to notice a lot of things that I had missed before. I was still gaining the knowledge, but it took me becoming an entrepreneur to learn the game. The BigLaw partnership model makes an associate's job much like being an entrepreneur. You do not have a boss in the traditional sense, you still compete for the best work, and its about who you know as much as it is what you know. Interacting in the firm world with the knowledge of how to act, dress, be...showed me how understanding why I must (or think I must) do these things is more valuable.

I'm about to break for lunch and get back to writing soon after. Wish me luck on finishing up Chapter 6.

To the Wire

Since my last post, I have made serious progress toward my goal of having my proposal ready this month. The most exciting part was finally getting my final chapter titles and subtitles down. Just looking at my Table of Contents makes me proud. The fact that there are all these hidden meanings and/or thought processes that went into each one makes it even more exciting.

Decisions, Decisions

I have decided to complete my Introduction, Chapters 1 and 6 for my sample chapters. This will be interesting, as I am as excited as others to see how the book turns out. Most of what I had previously written serves as a basis for writing the final chapters, but I have been starting from scratch as I write so that my writing benefits from my clearer thought process and my focus on the art of storytelling and not just telling my story.

The Sneak Peekers

I have also been getting together the folks that I want to read and critique my proposal before I send it out. Having this feedback will be a major help in many ways, but mostly it will be the first time I really stop talking about it and be about it. I am yet to share my writing with anyone because I am not at a place that I feel comfortable with the final product yet, but that will all change soon.

The Big Test

I am hoping to have my three sample chapters completed by the end of the week. I am giving myself some leeway in the goal, as I am 37 weeks pregnant and rest is my main goal. In fact, last week I slept all day from Monday through Friday...it felt great and I fought off the guilt that I felt creeping in. My estimate is that that is 54 pages of writing, sounds daunting but you have to remember that that breaks down to approximately 22 standard pages. At 5 pages per day, with a lot of it already started, I should be able to stick to this plan. This will be a good indication of how long it takes me to complete the book once I secure a deal.

I have been working for most of the day, so I think I will quit for the day and start fresh tomorrow.